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Community Corner

Samaritan Presents Free Community Workshop on Timely Conversations April 26

When we’re with our families and loved ones, we talk about sports and the weather, but too few of us talk about what matters most. Discussing our wishes with family now, before facing serious illness, injury or end of life can help prepare for difficult times and bring peace to families for years to come. 

To encourage these important but difficult conversations, Samaritan Healthcare and Hospice will host Timely Conversations on Saturday, April 26 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Cherry Hill Public Library, located at 1100 Kings Highway North in Cherry Hill, N.J. 

During this free, two-part seminar, attendees will learn how to begin the conversation with family through Making Your Wishes Known Before Advanced Illness. Presented by Marianne Holler, DO, FACOI, hospice physician at Samaritan Healthcare and Hospice and NJBiz 2013 Physician of the Year, Making Your Wishes Known Before Advanced Illness will discuss valuable information and helpful hints on how to talk to loved ones about values, desires, goals and wishes before illness or injury occur. 

Attendees will then have the opportunity to continue conversation with My Gift of Grace, a Conversation Game for Living and Dying Well. Led by Jethro Heiko, game designer and partner at The Action Mill, a human design firm focused on improving late-life and end-of-life care, My Gift of Grace helps families, friends and co-workers talk about death and dying and has been described as “a surprisingly fun, deeply meaningful, life-affirming, fear-conquering conversation you never knew you could have about your views and values about life, death and dying.”

Timely Conversations is free and open to the public. Reservations are required. To RSVP, contact Christine Alston at (856) 552-3258 or Christine.Alston@SamaritanHealthcareNJ.org

About Samaritan Healthcare & Hospice:
Samaritan Healthcare & Hospice is the regional leader for hospice and palliative (comfort) care, grief support and counseling, end-of-life education, research and advocacy. In addition to hospice services covered by Medicare, Medicaid and private insurers, Samaritan’s Family of Services also provides more than $1 million each year in essential, yet non-reimbursed, services through generous community support of The Samaritan Fund. Samaritan is a not-for-profit, non-sectarian organization serving people in Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Gloucester and Mercer counties who are coping with serious illness or grief. For more information, visit www.samaritanhospice.org.

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